South Dakota School of Mines men’s basketball team took to the highway again this past weekend for what one might call a “Viking Quest”

By Brad Blume
Sports Information Director
South Dakota School of Mines
Men’s Basketball
RAPID CITY ‐‐‐ The South Dakota School of Mines men’s basketball team took to the highway again this past weekend for what one might call a “Viking Quest”.
The Hardrockers traveled to Nebraska Friday night to square off with the Dana College Vikings and then headed to Sioux Falls Saturday for an exhibition game against the Augustana College Vikings.
SD Mines defeated Dana College, winning the non‐conference bout, 75‐71. The ‘Rockers then came up short to the NCAA Div. II Augustana Vikings, 79‐50. Because it was an exhibition game, the loss does not affect SDM’s record nor do any of the statistics during that game figure into season totals.
“The Hardrocker men came off a pretty big win Friday night against Dana College,” said Hardrocker head coach Jason Henry. “Dana is pretty good at home. They have a bunch of seniors back this season and they should compete very well in the (Great Plains Conference).”
Dana took the first half lead, outscoring Mines, 35‐32, but the Hardrockers rallied in the second period with a 43‐point performance while Dana put up 36 markers.
”For us to go down there and get a win and have a good showing and really just play well this time of year on the road was good to see for our guys.”
Three Hardrockers scored in double figures. Leading the charge was junior transfer and big man Carl Johnson (6‐foot‐10‐inches) from Rapid City, S.D. Johnson put up 14 points, had two blocks and also was credited with a steal in the game. Junior Robbie Fedor (Monticello, Minn.) also had a good showing, scoring 13 points on the night and sophomore Kaleb Rehmer (Gillette, Wyo.) came through with 11 markers.
In Saturday’s bout, Augustana jumped on the Hardrockers early, outscoring the visitors, 47‐21, over the first 20 minutes.
“They came out of the chutes ready to go. It was only their third regular game of the season and we were coming off the big win from the night before so we may have been a bit sluggish,” Henry said. “We really haven’t started games overly well this year.”
Henry was able to rally the troops in the second half, and although they didn’t outscore the Vikings, the ‘Rockers were able to stay competitive in the second frame.
“In the second half ‐‐‐‐ we battled. We didn’t outscore them in the second half but our guys came in and contributed,” Henry added. Fedor and Johnson were again the top point‐getters for the Hardrockers as both cashed in for 11 while freshman Tommy Smith (Fort Worth, Texas) played well, coming off the bench and added 10 points.
The Hardrockers official overall record stands at 4‐3 for the season and the team will now prepare for a lengthy home stand. First on the list is hosting the U.S. Bank Thanksgiving Classic this coming weekend. Black Hills State, Haskell Indian Nations University and Peru State will all be competing. BHSU takes on Peru State Friday at 5 p.m. followed by SD Mines and Haskell in the 7 p.m. nightcap.
Lady ‘Rockers swept in road trip to Billings
BILLINGS, Mont. ‐‐‐ The South Dakota School of Mines women’s basketball team travelled to Billings Mont., this past weekend to compete at the Rocky Mountain College Classic. The Lady Hardrockers had a tough go of it, losing games to the host school, Rocky Mountain College, 89���61, on Friday and then falling to Carroll College, 77‐68, Saturday evening.
In Friday game, Rocky Mountain seemed to control the game from the get going, jumping out to a 53‐25 advantage. That was probably the deciding factor as each team put up 36 points over the final 20 minutes.
Junior Bethany Holyoak (Moorcroft, Wyo.) paced the Hardrockers with a 17‐point performance. She nearly recorded another double‐double, grabbing a total of nine rebounds in the game. Sophomore Jerika Ihnen (Tea, S.D.) put up nine markers while sophomore Loryn Schuetzle (Pierre, S.D.), freshman Ariel Granillo (Chandler, Ariz.) and junior Natasha Begay (Page, Ariz.) all put up eight on the night.
Against Carroll, it was a second half surge by the Saints that sunk the Lady ‘Rockers. SD Mines held a one‐point edge at the half, 37‐36, and then were outscored 41‐31 in the second half. The game was pretty physical as the Saints went to the free throw line 43 times on the night. They converted 10‐11 in the first half and 16‐32 in the second period.
Schuetzle had a great game for SD Mines, cashing in for 13 points including a 3‐4 performance from behind the three‐point line. Granillo put up 12 points and sophomore Stephanie Bjustrom (Algona, Iowa) delivered with 10 points in the game.
The Lady Hardrocker overall record is now at 3‐5 for the season. They are back on the road this weekend, traveling to Hasting, Neb., to take on Hasting College and Doane College.
Three earn spot on DAC All Conference Volleyball list
RAPID CITY ‐‐‐ The Dakota Athletic Conference released the All Conference volleyball honors recently and the Hardrockers had three names on the list.
Senior Jenny Hiykel (Omaha, Neb.) earned first team honors for the second consecutive year and also was named DAC Libero of the Year for the second straight season. On top of that Hiykel also received the honor of being the DAC Most Valuable Senior. “For the past four years the defense has been built around Jenny,” head volleyball coach Beth Honaker said. “She is very deserving of all these honors.
As a libero on the season, Hiykel led the Hardrockers in digs with 683 for the year. In 103 games played she also had 518 receptions. She holds several school records including most digs in a season with 717. Her 2008 total also puts her in second place.
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“I thought it was going to be a fight between Hiykel and Dakota State’s libero (Laura Lanoue), but Hiykel earned the award almost unanimously.”
Earning second team honors are outside hitter Ashley Kauffman (senior from Fort Morgan, Colo.) and middle hitter Katherine Hanson (junior from Sioux Falls, S.D.).
“I was a little disappointed that Ashley wasn’t higher on the list,” Honaker said. “She just as easily could have been on the first team.”
Kauffman is also a repeat All Conference selection. She led the team in kills this season with 313 and made good on 768 of 954 attacks. She was also second in the conference in kills averaging 3.04 kills a game and sixth in the DAC in digs with 429 averaging 4.2 a game.
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“It’s nice to get recognized for all my hard work,” Kauffman said about earning the DAC honor. “It’s just disappointing that we didn’t have a better season. But it was still a fun year and a competitive one as well.”
Hanson, a middle hitter, was named to the second team as well this year. She finished the year with240 kills and was 598‐702 on the attack. She also posted 74 total blocks for the year (16 solo, 58 assisted).
“This is the second year she has been nominated and I am very glad to see she finally got on the (DAC) list,” Honaker added.

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By Brad Blume
Sports Information Director
South Dakota School of Mines
Men’s Basketball
RAPID CITY ‐‐‐ The South Dakota School of Mines men’s basketball team took to the highway again this past weekend for what one might call a “Viking Quest”.
The Hardrockers traveled to Nebraska Friday night to square off with the Dana College Vikings and then headed to Sioux Falls Saturday for an exhibition game against the Augustana College Vikings.
SD Mines defeated Dana College, winning the non‐conference bout, 75‐71. The ‘Rockers then came up short to the NCAA Div. II Augustana Vikings, 79‐50. Because it was an exhibition game, the loss does not affect SDM’s record nor do any of the statistics during that game figure into season totals.
“The Hardrocker men came off a pretty big win Friday night against Dana College,” said Hardrocker head coach Jason Henry. “Dana is pretty good at home. They have a bunch of seniors back this season and they should compete very well in the (Great Plains Conference).”
Dana took the first half lead, outscoring Mines, 35‐32, but the Hardrockers rallied in the second period with a 43‐point performance while Dana put up 36 markers.
”For us to go down there and get a win and have a good showing and really just play well this time of year on the road was good to see for our guys.”
Three Hardrockers scored in double figures. Leading the charge was junior transfer and big man Carl Johnson (6‐foot‐10‐inches) from Rapid City, S.D. Johnson put up 14 points, had two blocks and also was credited with a steal in the game. Junior Robbie Fedor (Monticello, Minn.) also had a good showing, scoring 13 points on the night and sophomore Kaleb Rehmer (Gillette, Wyo.) came through with 11 markers.
In Saturday’s bout, Augustana jumped on the Hardrockers early, outscoring the visitors, 47‐21, over the first 20 minutes.
“They came out of the chutes ready to go. It was only their third regular game of the season and we were coming off the big win from the night before so we may have been a bit sluggish,” Henry said. “We really haven’t started games overly well this year.”
Henry was able to rally the troops in the second half, and although they didn’t outscore the Vikings, the ‘Rockers were able to stay competitive in the second frame.
“In the second half ‐‐‐‐ we battled. We didn’t outscore them in the second half but our guys came in and contributed,” Henry added. Fedor and Johnson were again the top point‐getters for the Hardrockers as both cashed in for 11 while freshman Tommy Smith (Fort Worth, Texas) played well, coming off the bench and added 10 points.
The Hardrockers official overall record stands at 4‐3 for the season and the team will now prepare for a lengthy home stand. First on the list is hosting the U.S. Bank Thanksgiving Classic this coming weekend. Black Hills State, Haskell Indian Nations University and Peru State will all be competing. BHSU takes on Peru State Friday at 5 p.m. followed by SD Mines and Haskell in the 7 p.m. nightcap.
Lady ‘Rockers swept in road trip to Billings
BILLINGS, Mont. ‐‐‐ The South Dakota School of Mines women’s basketball team travelled to Billings Mont., this past weekend to compete at the Rocky Mountain College Classic. The Lady Hardrockers had a tough go of it, losing games to the host school, Rocky Mountain College, 89���61, on Friday and then falling to Carroll College, 77‐68, Saturday evening.
In Friday game, Rocky Mountain seemed to control the game from the get going, jumping out to a 53‐25 advantage. That was probably the deciding factor as each team put up 36 points over the final 20 minutes.
Junior Bethany Holyoak (Moorcroft, Wyo.) paced the Hardrockers with a 17‐point performance. She nearly recorded another double‐double, grabbing a total of nine rebounds in the game. Sophomore Jerika Ihnen (Tea, S.D.) put up nine markers while sophomore Loryn Schuetzle (Pierre, S.D.), freshman Ariel Granillo (Chandler, Ariz.) and junior Natasha Begay (Page, Ariz.) all put up eight on the night.
Against Carroll, it was a second half surge by the Saints that sunk the Lady ‘Rockers. SD Mines held a one‐point edge at the half, 37‐36, and then were outscored 41‐31 in the second half. The game was pretty physical as the Saints went to the free throw line 43 times on the night. They converted 10‐11 in the first half and 16‐32 in the second period.
Schuetzle had a great game for SD Mines, cashing in for 13 points including a 3‐4 performance from behind the three‐point line. Granillo put up 12 points and sophomore Stephanie Bjustrom (Algona, Iowa) delivered with 10 points in the game.
The Lady Hardrocker overall record is now at 3‐5 for the season. They are back on the road this weekend, traveling to Hasting, Neb., to take on Hasting College and Doane College.
Three earn spot on DAC All Conference Volleyball list
RAPID CITY ‐‐‐ The Dakota Athletic Conference released the All Conference volleyball honors recently and the Hardrockers had three names on the list.
Senior Jenny Hiykel (Omaha, Neb.) earned first team honors for the second consecutive year and also was named DAC Libero of the Year for the second straight season. On top of that Hiykel also received the honor of being the DAC Most Valuable Senior. “For the past four years the defense has been built around Jenny,” head volleyball coach Beth Honaker said. “She is very deserving of all these honors.
As a libero on the season, Hiykel led the Hardrockers in digs with 683 for the year. In 103 games played she also had 518 receptions. She holds several school records including most digs in a season with 717. Her 2008 total also puts her in second place.
el
“I thought it was going to be a fight between Hiykel and Dakota State’s libero (Laura Lanoue), but Hiykel earned the award almost unanimously.”
Earning second team honors are outside hitter Ashley Kauffman (senior from Fort Morgan, Colo.) and middle hitter Katherine Hanson (junior from Sioux Falls, S.D.).
“I was a little disappointed that Ashley wasn’t higher on the list,” Honaker said. “She just as easily could have been on the first team.”
Kauffman is also a repeat All Conference selection. She led the team in kills this season with 313 and made good on 768 of 954 attacks. She was also second in the conference in kills averaging 3.04 kills a game and sixth in the DAC in digs with 429 averaging 4.2 a game.
on
“It’s nice to get recognized for all my hard work,” Kauffman said about earning the DAC honor. “It’s just disappointing that we didn’t have a better season. But it was still a fun year and a competitive one as well.”
Hanson, a middle hitter, was named to the second team as well this year. She finished the year with240 kills and was 598‐702 on the attack. She also posted 74 total blocks for the year (16 solo, 58 assisted).
“This is the second year she has been nominated and I am very glad to see she finally got on the (DAC) list,” Honaker added.

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